www.jec.org.uk

So, after spending a fortune on new hydraulic pipes, new hydraulic rams and a second hand pump, the roof works again. But when I went to drive it, I have the dreaded 'yellow wave'... I've removed the mirror and discovered that these are like hen's teeth and you need a fat wallet to replace them. Having spent the equivalent of a nice second-hand car on the hydraulics, I decided that I should look at alternatives to buying a new or second-hand mirror.

I have discovered the Honda Acura uses the same mirror, but doesn't have automatic lights. So, I have decided to see if I can repir it myself using a different Jag mirror. I have just bought an interior mirror of eBay for a XJ X350 hoping that the actual 'mirror' glass may be the same size as the XK8 mirror glass. If so, I hope to be able to make one good mirror out of the two. Question ..

Has anyone separated an XK8 mirror front frame that holds the glass in, from the rear part of the mirror? If so. I would really appreciate some guidance.

Of course, this all may go horribly wrong, in which case I will have to but a new one for £300 + .... but I thought is worth a try.

When I had an X308 XJ and the mirror went U/S in the usual way, at that time Magna Donnelly were still replacing them free of charge (lucky me). Out of interest I tried taking the old one apart, but while the bezel appears to be a snap-in arrangement it is actually glued in and had to be cut out all round with a Dremel to see what was inside. This left the body useless for anything else.

If you have a working X350 mirror I think you would be better to try and adapt that to fit your windscreen rather than try to swap the mirror into the old body. I'd keep the old mirror connector and cable, as you will probably have to adapt the wiring as a hybrid; Jaguar are bound to have used a different connector and wiring colours on the later model!